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Ontario PCs push for 24/7 booze ahead of by-elections

A man enters the LCBO store located at 2 Cooper Street, near Yonge and Queens Quay, close to the Liquor Control Board of Ontario headquarters at 55 Lakeshore Blvd East in Toronto, Monday afternoon, February 13, 2012. Photo: Aaron Lynett/ National Post

Why, for the love of all that is holy, must those hated LCBO and beer stores close at all? I’ve bemoaned this backward practice countless times, pounding my fists in vain against the darkened windows of the Liberty Village LCBO in Toronto late at night…

No. Not really.

The idea that 24/7 booze is suddenly of dire importance … leaves a bad taste in my mouth.

But the Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario would have you believe that our collective inability to buy booze at 3AM should be a major issue for Ontarians. MPP Peter Shurman told a press conference this week that it’s time that beer and wine were available at convenience stores, 24/7.

Um, kay… So, remind me, why is this such a big deal?

Well, when explaining the dire importance of his cause in an interview on CBC’s Metro Morning, Shurman bemoaned the plight of shift workers who come home at odd hours and may want to pick up a six pack.

Home late and no beer to be bought? The horror.

Guess what, there are a whack load of times when Ontarians can’t buy booze, like on public holidays, for example. Know what the solution is? Stock up beforehand! Surprisingly, many Ontarians have the grey matter necessary to have figured this out. Getting home late and think you might like to crack open a Sleeman? Be sure you have some in the fridge before you head out. Ta da! Problem solved.

But, no, common sense is just too complex, it seems. We must completely overhaul the system so that we can buy hooch all day, every day. Sigh.

Hey, I have no problem discussing the idea of making booze available in corner stores. I believe that dismantling the LCBO would result in less selection for consumers who want more than a Coors Lights or wine in a box. But I doubt making wine and beer available at the corner store would result in an epidemic of underage drinking. It’s not the issue I oppose. But the idea that 24/7 booze is suddenly of dire importance, worthy of news conferences and Tory chest thumping, just leaves a bad taste in my mouth – like a crummy Cabernet left out overnight.

Could the sudden urgency of the issue have anything to do with the two by-elections called in Ontario this week? Could the Tories be hoping that free-flowing beer and wine will trump the more serious issues facing our province?

Rachel is a writer, condo dweller, urbanite and an unabashed lover of all things Toronto - the good, the bad, and the ugly.
Her first novel for young adults, The Lewton Experiment, is available now ... read morefrom Tradewind Books.
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